This invention relates primarily to endoscope constructions and more particularly to such constructions useful for preventing contamination from one patient to the other, upon which the instrument is used.
Endoscopes are medical instruments for introduction to body openings of patients. In basic construction, they are cylindrical and elongated with flexible tubing connecting the distal and proximal ends. Such instruments vary in length from one foot to five feet and usually vary in diameter between 1/4 and 3/4 of an inch. In just about all cases, the instrument is intended for repeated use and is costly enough so that physicians and most hospitals maintain in stock only one or two such instruments; but nevertheless, such instruments are used three or four times, or more, during an average day. Most manufacturers of such instruments recommend that the instrument be "disinfected" between uses. In recent months, sterlization of such instruments has been recommended for endoscopes, mostly because of the onset of the AIDS epidemic. Sterlization usually can take either of two forms; namely, autoclaving or gas sterlization. Because of the usual materials used for constructing endoscope instruments, auto-claving would probably melt, or at least somewhat distort the materials of the endoscope. Therefore, gas sterilization is usually the procedure taken since the recent concern relating to AIDS. Unfortunately, gas sterilization involves a twenty-four hour process, which provides the private practice physician or hospital only the choice of purchasing additional instruments, thereby increasing the already high cost of medical treatment, or being unprepared for certain patients who require an endoscope procedure.
Of course, disinfection is unsatisfactory, in view of the AIDS epidemic, since it does not affect the AIDS virus.
It should also be understood that endoscope instruments commonly involve means for inserting air, suction and biopsy forceps, as well as viewing fibers to be inserted through and beyond the distal end of the instrument.
The endoscope instrument has remained relatively constant in construction for many years. Various modifications to the structure of the instrument have been suggested, but for purposes different than those accomplished by the present invention. For instance, Hauser, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,699, issued Sept. 25, 1979, suggested a particular catheter construction, whose main purpose and accomplishment was to prevent contamination to a patient sample being withdrawn from a body cavity. The construction suggested by Hauser could not, and was not intended to, solve the problem addressed by the present invention, as it relates to preventing contamination from one patient to the other upon which the instrument is used.
Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide an endoscope construction which prevents contamination from one patient to the other, because of body fluid interchange between the first patient and the instrument, and then between the instrument and a second patient.
A further and more particular object of the present invention is to provide disposable and replaceable construction means to protect against such contamination.